I'm honestly loving this series. First Tainted Angel and now this wonderful book! I swear, despite somewhat dry, slightly detached way of telling the story, Anne Cleeland creates such sharp characters, I can't stay away from their adventures.

Hathor comes to Paris in search of her childhood friend hoping to persuade him to marry her because she is sick to death of staying in the countryside while her famous parents egyptologists trot all over Egypt and Europe in search of adventures.

Instead she finds that her parents are missing, her friend is engaged and a lot of shady diplomats and spies want something from her. With the help of her fearless companion Miss Bing, Hattie escapes to Cairo and start looking for her parents relying on deliciously wily Monsieur Berry.

Berry... can I just sigh right here? Him and Hattie are amazing together. The romance is really dry and not very showy or grand, but there is something about them both that really gets to me, especially in the end when it reaches its twist. I can't even tell you what it is without ruining the surprise for you, but I personally found it adorable.

There is plenty of layered intrigues and our heroes go from one bad situation to another with no breaks. My worry is that some readers will find this type of fiction somewhat dry, but I really enjoyed it. Recommended! ( )

Review first published on fefferbooks.com. A free advanced reader copy of this book was provided by Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. The review below is in no way influenced by this consideration.

I love a good period mystery/romance, but usually when I read them, I prepare myself for a touch of stuffiness from the narrator. I was so pleasantly surprised by the bubbly, energetic voice that greeted me from the pages of Anne Cleeland's Daughter of the God-King. Hathor (who goes by Hattie; who can blame her?) is so headstrong, so bright, so...dare I say spunky? that she charms her way quickly right into the hearts of readers.

Cleeland's characters, and there are many, are mainly all similarly charming--Bing, Hattie's companion, is faithful, cheerful, and delightfully insightful. Robbie, the childhood friend and erstwhile love interest, throws a dash of loyalty and stability into the mix. Eugenie is the consummate French flirt, and Mssr. Berry is irresistibly, protectively, seductively fabulous.

The setting flits from Paris to Thebes, Cairo to the Valley of the Kings, and all kinds of adventure ensues. The group, as a whole, is on the hunt for an Egyptian artifact, and Hattie has been superstitiously confused for the daughter in the title: the pharaoh Seti's daughter. But there is more mystery to unfold, fraught with spies and intrigue, mummies and artifacts and murder and theft--and some romance, too. The romance, itself, was a little heavy on the details for me, but might be just fine for others. Just fair warning.

Cleeland's writing is clear, frolicking, and engaging. The only issue I noted was once or twice when the narration shifted ever-so-slightly out of voice: the book is written in third-person limited, meaning we know what Hattie thinks and feels, but no one else. In a couple of places, we're told exactly what someone else thinks, or even, that we're not sure *what* Hattie thinks. That would be fine, if Hattie herself doesn't know, but instead, it seems as if the narrator is unsure. That was a tad distracting. Regardless, it only happened a couple of times.

Otherwise, the book was wholly delightful, and if it were a little lighter on the bedroom details, I'd happily read the next in the series. 4.5 stars.
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Daughter of the God King is my second Regency novel by Ms. Cleeland and I dare say I enjoyed it immensely. Hattie (Hathor) Blackhouse is the daughter of famous Egyptologists which is all well and good but they ignore her and leave her to rot in the Cornwall countryside. She has had enough rusticating and devises a plan to go to Paris to find her childhood friend and get him to marry her. What she doesn't know is that her parents are missing and various elements are seeking her because they think she knows more than she does.

Hattie and her faithful companion, Bing set off and while in Paris they do find Robbie but they also find trouble. Lots and lots of trouble. Deciding to take matters into her own hands Hattie has Bing book passage to Egypt so she can look for her parents herself. What Hattie doesn't know is why her parents are missing and why everyone keeps looking to her for answers. She does pick up a very handsome, very mysterious friend along the way and he knows a lot more than he is willing to share.

This was a page turning, very quick witted read about some very dark subjects. Egypt was a pawn in Napoleon's power mad gamble to rule the world. Ms. Cleeland brings a certain lightness to dark subjects with her witty characters and bright dialog. There is still plenty of suspense to keep you glued to the pages and the ending is if not satisfying, at least fulfilling. There is also one huge shocker of a twist that turns the whole story inside out. I'm hoping there will be further adventures for all involved in this novel as the characters were well developed and downright fun. ( )

Scintillating!

Hattie Blackhouse arrives with her companion Miss Bing at her lodgings in Paris. In short order she pushes an intruder down the back stairs, finds out her childhood friend, Robbie Tremaine is unaccountably to be married in two days to the widow of a work acquaintance her parents, is approached at a soirée by an aging french roué, Baron du Pays, is introduced to the intruder, sought out by the enigmatic Monsieur Berry, and interviewed by an un-named official of the English government. Of course there is also a mysterious Comte. All seeking information about her parents strongbox. Oh, and Miss Bing's dead brother and Robbie's widowed fiancé dead husband worked with or for her parents in Egypt.
Long neglected by her parents during her childhood whilst they spent their time pursuing their passion, Hattie does find it disturbing that though her parents neglected to provide emotionally for her, in their death have provided materially for her.
Hattie's famous Egyptologist parents appear to have disappeared without a trace from their Theban dig and are presumed dead. Hattie sets forth to Cairo with Bing to discover the truth. Bodies litter the stage as Hattie forges forward in her quest to locate at the very least her parents bodies. Politics and intrigue jostle each other for prominence. Mysterious references to Napoleon lurk in the background, although he is supposedly confined to Elba. Powerful sources certainly seem to be at play as Bing warns.
Monsieur Berry turns up and Hattie becomes more and more fascinated by him. He-who-was-not-Daniel, as Hattie meditatively refers to him.
Secrets run deep and swift and I certainly did not see a major deception coming. Romance blooms in unexpected ways. The surprises just keep coming!
I really enjoyed the cut and thrust of the action as events piled on top of each other to the point where I wondered if I was watching an enjoyable farce much in the vein of 'The Importance of Being Ernest,' or if Hercule Poirot would suddenly emerge from behind a column.
No, better still, I was reading an enjoyable romantic thriller. An excellent read!

A NetGalley ARC ( )

Hattie Blackhouse has never been close to her parents. She receives word that they have disappeared from their excavation in Egypt. She needs to travel there to make estate arrangements and to try to locate her parents or their bodies. She is uncertain whom she can trust. The timing of the novel is shortly after Napoleon has been exiled to Elba, and the novel's plot involves the governments of France, Britain, Egypt, and a few other countries. I believe that the author is trying to mimic prose of the regency era although she is not very successful in her efforts. It just kind of reads like a cheap imitation of it and does not flow well. The plot of the novel seems similar to something I read probably 30 years ago or more, although I can't put my finger on the novel or the author. It's not a bad read, but it's not a particularly good one either. This review is based on an advance galley received by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes. ( )